Sen. Gillibrand meets with farmers and winemakers to discuss concerns about upstate agriculture

Monday

Jul 15, 2013 at 5:30 PMJul 15, 2013 at 5:50 PM

By James Postjpost@the-leader.com

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand sat down with farmers and winemakers Friday afternoon to answer their questions and learn more about the challenges upstate agriculture is facing.

The roundtable discussion took place over wine and lunch at Glenora Wine Cellars' Veraisons Restaurant.

One of the top issues raised was the levy placed on U.S. wine that's imported to Ontario, Canada. The 39.6 percent tax is considered a major obstacle to expanding the market for New York wine.

Canadian wine brought into the U.S. doesn't face a similar tax – though some at the gathering thought it should.

"It's not fair," Gillibrand agreed.

Gillibrand said she hopes to use her new position on the president's Export Council to pressure Canadian officials to reduce barriers to trade.

She also answered questions focused on the federal farm bill, currently tied up in partisan wrangling in Washington.

The bill passed by the Senate included several provisions championed by Gillibrand, including a program to allow food stamps (known officially as SNAP) to be used at farmer's markets, expanding access to credit through USDA Rural Development loans, and changes to the crop insurance program to benefit specialty crops like apples and grapes.

Klaas Martens, of Lakeview Organic Grain, said changes to crop insurance are long overdue.

"Crop insurance underwriters are literally making billions," he said.

Gillibrand also pushed for a program in the farm bill that would provide loans and grants to make fresh food available in so-called "food deserts."

She said while the popular perception is that food deserts are in inner city areas, Dunkirk, in Chatauqua County, is actually considered a food desert – residents there have no access to fresh food at prices that are considered affordable.

The future of the farm bill is uncertain. The Republican majority in the House voted Thursday to pass a farm bill that didn't include the SNAP program. The nutrition assistance and farm support programs have been linked since 1973.

That sets up a process where the Conference Committee, which reconciles House and Senate versions of legislation into a single bill, will have to bring together two fundamentally different bills for a final vote in both houses.

Other questions at Friday's gathering touched on issues that are traditional problems for American farmers.

Mark James of the New York Farm Bureau asked about the impact of the estate tax and capital gains tax on small farmers."I would actually exempt farms and small businesses from the estate tax," Gillibrand said.

As for capital gains, she proposes deferring capital gains taxes until the money leaves the industry it was earned in – allowing farmers to sell to other farmers without having to pay. If they sold to a developer, the tax would still be applied.

One piece of good news Gillibrand had to announce was $373,986 in funding from the USDA for the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. The money will be used to operate New York wine exhibits at trade shows overseas, and to host wine writers and buyers on tours of New York's wine country.

She also announced her own plans to promote upstate agriculture on a smaller scale. She plans to tour the Finger Lakes Wine Trail and Cheese Trail this summer with some out-of-state friends, so they can "see how awesome New York is."

At an earlier event at the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, Gillibrand also touted a program to make it easier to get funds for rural broadband Internet.

She noted that 1.1 million in New York don't have access to high-speed Internet, including 160,700 in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.

The provision would create a centralized system to apply for funds for broadband development, and would add grants to the existing loan program. The grants would cover up to 50 percent of costs, and up to 75 percent for projects in the most remote areas.

Gillbrand said making high-speed Internet available to all Americans would add 1.2 million jobs and $500 million to the U.S. economy.

The broadband Internet provisions are also part of the Senate farm bill, which makes it uncertain if or when they would go into effect.

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